A Fearless Heart

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

The Buddhist practice of mindfulness first caught on in the West when we began to understand its many practical benefits. Now Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., introduces a practice with even greater life-changing power: compassion. Based on the revolutionary course in Compassion Cultivation Training at Stanford that Jinpa helped to create, A Fearless Heart shows us that compassion can be a path through suffering, a key to robust health, and even an effective way to reach our goals.

Yet we fear compassion. We worry that if we are too compassionate with others, they will take advantage of us, and too much self-compassion will make us slackers. Pulling from the latest Western research as well as traditional Buddhist psychology, Jinpa offers simple daily practices that will help readers train their compassion muscle for a greater meaning, connection, and fulfillment. (Source: Penguin Random House)

Citation

Jinpa, Thupten. A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives. New York: Hudson Street Press, 2015.

Introductionxv

Part I Why Compassion Matters

1. The Best Kept Secret of Happiness: Compassion3
- Born to Connect5
- I Am the Other7
- Where the Research Is Taking Us10
- The Benefits of Compassion11
  - Receiving Kindness13
  - The Helper's High14
  - More Compassion, More Purpose16
  - More Compassion, Less Stress17
  - The Cure for Loneliness19
  - Kindness Is Contagious21
  - Hanging in There with Patience23

2. The Key to Self-Acceptance: Having Compassion for Yourself27
- What Self-Compassion Is Not28
- The High Cost of Low Self-Compassion36
- The Benefits of Self-Compassion40
  - Renewing Our Resources40
  - Setting Realistic Goals40
  - Learning from Our Experience40
  - Feeling Less Alone41
  - "Be Kind, and Be Happy"41
- It Comes Back to Connection44

3. From Fear to Courage: Breaking Through Our Resistance47
- The Courage of Compassion48
- Fear of Compassion54
- Pride: The False Guard58
- A Culture of Kindness59
- Letting Go of Our Resistance60
- Building Our Compassion Muscle: Compassion Cultivation at Stanford University63

Part II Training Our Mind and Heart

4. From Compassion to Action: Turning Intention into Motivation69
- The Four Immeasurables70
- Setting Conscious Intention73
  - Exercise: Setting an Intention74
- Dedicating Our Experience76
  - Exercise: Making a Dedication77
- The Benefits of Intention and Dedication78
- How Intention Becomes Motivation83

5. Making Way for Compassion: How Focused Awareness Keeps Us on Track89
- Mind Wandering: A Default State of Our Brain?90
- Quieting the Mind93
  - Exercise: Deep Breathing95
  - Exercise: Spacious Mind98
- Focusing the Mind99
  - Exercise: Focused Attention Through Mindful Breathing100
  - Exercise: Focused Attention Using and Image104
- Strengthening Meta-Awareness107
  - Exercise: Meta-Awareness108

6. Getting Unstuck: Escaping the Prison of Excessive Self-Involvement113
- Opening Your Heart in Everyday Life114
- Opening Your Heart through Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation119
  - Exercise: Loving-Kindness Meditation121
  - Compassion Meditation123
- A Quiet Practice with Powerful Results125
- There Is More to Loving-Kindness and Compassion Than Wishing128
- It Comes Back to Connection Again131

7. "May I Be Happy": Caring for Ourselves133
- Self-Compassion and Attachment Style134
- Learning to Be with Our Suffering135
- Cultivating Self-Forgiveness139
  - Exercise: Forgiving Ourselves141
- Self-Acceptance143
  - Exercise: Accepting Ourselves144
- Self-Kindness146
  - Exercise: Self-Kindness147
- Loving-Kindness for Ourselves150
- Replenishing Our Inner Wellspring151

8. "Just Like Me": Expanding Our Circle of Concern153
- The Power of Perceived Similarity156
- Embracing Our Common Humanity159
  - Exercise: Embracing Common Humanity160
- Cultivating Appreciation of Others164
  - Exercise: Appreciating Others166
- Expanding Our Circle of Concern167
  - Exercise: Expanding Our Circle of Concern168
- Priming Our Heart for a More Active Compassion171
  - Exercise: Priming Our Heart (Tonglen)175

Part III A New Way of Being

9. Greater Well-Being: How Compassion Makes Us Healthy and Strong181
- Compassion Training for Psychological Well-Being183
- A Compassionate Mind Is a Resilient Mind185
- Compassion Training and Emotional Regulation190
- Anchoring Our Personal Ethics192

10. More Courage, Less Stress, Greater Freedom: Making Compassion Our Basic Stance197
- Compassion in Everyday Life199
- A Theory of Personal Transformation201
- Seeing, Feeling, and Acting204
- A Perceptual Shift Can Change How We Actually Feel207
- A Way of Being in the World209
- From a Feeling to Our Very Way of Being212

11. The Power of One: The Way to a More Compassionate World215
- Compassion in Our Health Care Systems216
- Reenvisioning How We Educate Our Children219
- Caring Workplace, Caring Economics224
  - "A Very Different Company"227
- Toward a More Just and Compassionate Society230

Acknowledgments235

Notes239

Index257